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138

WAREHOUSES  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES.

NEWFOUNDLAND.
ST.  JOHNS.
(From  United  States  Consul  Cornelius,  St.  Johns,  Newfoundland.)
In  Newfoundland  the  facilities  for  the  storage,  at  a  nominal  rental,
of  merchandise  in  transit  or  in  bond,  are  very  complete  and  simple.
The  agents  of  steamship  lines  can  have  their  wharves  and  sheds
declared  by  official  proclamation  to  be  sufferance  warehouses  by  paying ­
  an  annual  fee  of  $120  to  $240,  according  to  the  area  embraced.
Goods  can  be  landed  from  shipboard  into  these  sheus  and  held  there
indefinitely  until  permits  are  issued  for  their  removal  either  on  payment ­
  of  duty,  for  transfer  into  bonded  warehouses,  or  for  transportation ­
  elsewhere.  Any  importer  can  have  a  suitable  store  along  the
water  front  recognized  by  the  customs  department  as  a  bonded  warehouse, ­
  provided  the  proper  officer  approves  of  it.  Government  locks
and  seals  are  then  affixed  to  its  doors  and  windows,  and  it  is  only
opened  by  a  customs  locker,  who  allows  only  such  goods  to  be  removed
from  it  as  a  bonded  warehouse  permit  specifies.  Goods  may  not  be
bonded  for  a  longer  period  than  two  years,  but  after  the  expiration
of  that  term  they  can  be  rebonded  for  a  similar  period  of  time.  The
bonded  warehouses  are  open  only  during  custom-house  hours—from
10  a.  m.  to  4  p.  m.—and  no  fees  are  exacted  from  owners  or  lessees
of  such  warehouses  for  any  service  performed  by  customs  officers  for
them.  For  the  convenience  of  small  importers  the  customs  department ­
  maintains  a  special  bonded  warehouse,  known  as  the  King’s
warehouse,  in  which  space  can  be  secured  as  desired.
For  transshipment  of  goods  in  bond  all  that  is  necessary  is  a  permit
allowing  the  goods  to  be  removed,  and  the  party  who  applies  for  this
becomes  liable  for  the  duty,  it  becoming  a  first  lien  on  his  estate.
When  the  goods  are  landed  at  their  destination  and  pay  duty  there,
the  collector  of  customs  certifies  to  the  necessary  papers  to  release  the
first  party  from  his  obligation  under  his  bond.
Charges  for  the  removal  of  goods  from  boat  or  train  to  warehouse
and  vice  versa  are  merely  the  truckman’s  rates  and  a  nominal  fee  for
the  permit.
George  0.  Cornelius,  Consul.
St.  Johns,  Newfoundland,  August  89,190J.

MEXICO.
MEXICO  CITY.
(From  United  States  Consul-General  Parsons,  Mexico  City.  Mexico.)
I  inclose  herewith  a  report  on  warehouses  for  the  storage  of  merchandise ­
  in  transit  or  in  bond,  written  by  Edward  M.  Conley,
formerly  vice  and  deputy  consul-general  in  this  office.  The  delay  i»
transmitting  this  report  is  explained  in  the  report  itself.  The  law
governing  bonded  warehouses  in  Mexico  went  into  effect  July  1  last,
and  since  that  time  only  has  there  been  a  bonded  warehouse  in  this
country.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to  hold  the  report  pending  the